Defend your rights

Customs administrations are in the frontline to enforce intellectual property rights at the EU borders. In order to effectively carry out their task, customs need the active engagement of the right-holders themselves. Co-operation is the most effective weapon: thanks to the information provided by the right-holders, customs may identify more easily goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights (IPR) and take the necessary action.

As a right-holder, you can defend your rights by asking customs to detain goods found to be suspected of infringing IPR.

The application for action can be a national or Union application depending on the intellectual property rights' basis. A Union application for action when granted in one EU Member States has the same legal status in all other Member States, where action was requested for in that application.

Submission of important and urgent information

In addition, two forms have been elaborated in close collaboration with industry. The aim is to provide a mechanism to notify the relevant customs administrations swiftly, in a clear structured way about specific information or general trends concerning suspected IPR infringing goods.